Throwback Thursday (Jan 21)

Nigel Kemp, Builder, Swimming

Making a difference. It is the goal of many aspiring coaches. The degree to which a coach makes a difference is measured by the success of the coach’s athletes. One can find no better example of someone who has made a difference than Dalhousie’s Nigel Kemp. His success through 27 years as a swimming coach at Dalhousie is exemplary.

A former international swimmer for Great Britain, Nigel arrived at Dalhousie in 1971 to take a post as lecturer in what was then the School of Physical Education. He also became Head Coach of the Dalhousie swim teams.  Nigel brought with him a coaching philosophy that has been the foundation of his long-term successes, “Success is improving, not necessarily winning.” One only has to look at the accomplishments of his swimmers, the international responsibilities and the recognition that Nigel has received during his time at Dalhousie to realize that this focus on improving has also resulted in a great deal of winning.

Under Nigel’s guidance the Dalhousie swim teams captured 27 AUAA championships.  In conference dual meets the men’s and women’s teams amassed 263 victories for a winning percentage of 73.2 percent over this period. This team success is a reflection of Nigel’s dedication to all of the athletes, not just the superstars. In the departmental year-end reviews, mention was always made of those swimmers who achieved personal best times that year, a true measure of success. In recognition of his exemplary coaching, Nigel was selected ten times as the AUAA Coach of the Year and three times awarded Dalhousie’s Coach of the Year. The Dalhousie A.J. “Sandy” Young Award for contribution to sport in Nova Scotia, is special award with great prestige and meaning, especially for those recipients who are members of the Dalhousie family.  Nigel was presented this award in 1998, and was fortunate to have been presented the award by Dr. A.J. “Sandy” Young himself.

During his tenure at Dalhousie, Nigel’s swimmers captured 63 CIAU medals, including 19 gold. The 1980 women’s swim team came closest to winning the national championship by finishing second, and close again in 1981, with a third-place finish.  On this national stage, Nigel was recognized as the CIAU Coach of the Year in both 1974 and 1980.  In 1975, Nigel was selected as the Canadian Swimming Coaches Association Coach of the Year.

Nigel was appointed to the Canadian Coaching Staff at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, where he coached Dalhousian Nancy Garapick to two bronze medals. He was also named to the 1980 Olympic staff. He coached at the 1975 and ’78 World Championships and the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He also was appointed head women’s coach of Canada’s teams at the 1979 and 1983 FISU World University Games. At the 1979 games in Mexico City Nigel coached Dalhousian, Susan Mason (McLeod), to a bronze medal.

Recognizing the importance of development, Nigel also coached the Halifax Trojans Aquatic Club from 1971-80.  His development of young swimmers was recognized as he coached the 1975 Canadian age group team at a meet in East Germany, and the Canadian youth team in Sweden in April 1973.

Nigel was inducted as a builder in the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 1989. Two of Nigel’s swimmers preceded him as inductees; Susan Mason (McLeod) in 1985 and Nancy Garapick in 1986. Another one of his swimmers Andrew Cole was also inducted in 1993.

In a 1989 interview, Nigel expressed, “I’m trying to be the catalyst to help individuals meet the goals they set for themselves.” Nigel has been much more than that.  He has been the catalyst for hundreds of swimmers and has made a profound and exemplary contribution to sport at Dalhousie. As an associate professor he continues to teach in what is now the School of Health and Human Performance, where appropriately his courses focus on coaching development. In November 2003, Nigel received the Canadian Swimming Coaches Association Coaching Contribution Award for his longstanding service in the field of coach education in Canada.

Nigel Kemp exemplifies the very best of Dalhousie athletics and it is a privilege to honour his contributions as an inaugural inductee into the Dalhousie University Sport Hall of Fame.

Lois MacGregor, Builder: Volleyball

Lois MacGregor exemplifies what is best about sport. Her philosophy is to give every athlete the chance to improve by developing a strong team where everyone is involved.  This philosophy has obviously paid off as can be seen through the many successes of her teams.

After playing for the Tigers for four years (1966-70), Lois took over as head coach in 1975 for a ten year span.  During that time, her teams won five conference championships and a CIAU silver medal in1984.  The highlight of her coaching career came in 1982 when she led Dalhousie to a gold medal at the CIAU national championship.  Her volleyball team is still the only one from Atlantic Canada to ever accomplish this feat.  As well, she has been honoured as Atlantic University Conference Coach of the Year four times and was twice named Dalhousie’s Coach of the Year.

Thanks in large part to her leadership, many of her players won significant conference and national awards and several went on to compete for Canada’s national team.

Lois is one of the co-founders of the Dalhousie Volleyball Classic, one of Canada’s most competitive and best-organized national level university tournaments.  Additionally, she co-founded the Dalhousie High School Volleyball Tournament, an event which has grown into one of Canada’s largest high school competitions.

But her success is not limited to building strong teams. Her former players agree that she is also excellent in building strong people.  She endeavoured to help mold women who would go on to be fine members of the community.  Lois states, “I always tried to help my athletes be the best they could be individually and as a team while still having fun. I hoped my athletes would feel good about themselves from their participation on my teams and that they would continue to enjoy their sport and perhaps get involved in coaching other young people like themselves when they graduated from Dal.”  As one of her former players, Joan Matheson says, “Although she was a tough taskmaster, Lois always went the extra mile to make our experience a positive one and during all of that, she never lost her sense of fun.” 

When we speak about her contribution to volleyball at Dalhousie, we are really only scratching the surface when it comes to the full scope of influence Lois has had in volleyball in Nova Scotia and even across the country.  Her tireless volunteer work with groups such as Volleyball Nova Scotia as a coach educator, clinician, and administrator have been invaluable to the development of the sport, particularly at the grass roots level.  After retiring from her post at Dalhousie, her coaching continued at the junior and high school level. As an educator, Lois has shared her love of the sport with countless teachers, university students and professionals. She has long been an advocate of introducing volleyball to elementary school students with modified equipment and skills. 

A few highlights of her many honours and awards include being inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 1998 in the builder category and in 2002 as coach of the 1982 CIAU championship team. She was also the recipient of the coveted Dalhousie A.J. “Sandy” Young Memorial Award in 2003.  This prize honours individuals who have contributed significantly to sport in Nova Scotia.

Lois is a faculty member in the School of Health and Human Performance and each year, has been selected as a mentor professor for the annual Academic All-Canadian luncheon.  Many of her students rave about her enthusiasm and commitment to their development.

We are very proud to have Lois as one of the inaugural inductees to the Dalhousie University Sport Hall of Fame.

Alan Yarr, Builder: Basketball, Cross Country, Track and Field, Golf, Tennis & Football

Who has committed 44 years to coaching at Dalhousie, coached 91 conference championship teams including 28 athletes who have gone on to national team competitions, has had five teams win CIAU/CIS medals and has coached national teams in three different sports? There can be only one answer: Al Yarr.

The breadth of sports which Al has coached is as expansive as his list of successes. During his early years at Dalhousie, Al coached men's basketball, track and field, cross country, golf, tennis and was an assistant coach with the football team.

Al coached the men’s basketball team from 1963-1979, making it a point of pride to recruit exclusively in Canada, while the other top teams were predominantly American. The roster of Canadian athletes certainly didn’t slow Dalhousie’s success. From 1967-72, Dalhousie had one of the best teams in the league with league records of 10-2 twice and 9-3 twice. Two ties for league honours were among the highlight. During the same period, Al also coached the Nova Scotia basketball team at the first Canada Winter Games in Quebec City in 1967 where the team captured a bronze medal. In 1968-69 Al was 

assistant coach of the Canadian men's national basketball team. Al also had what he has always referred to as ‘the privilege’ of coaching John Cassidy, who went on to spend ten years on Canada’s national team and played in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Although Al started at Dalhousie with a significant focus on basketball, his great passion in his later coaching years has been in the sports of cross country and track and field. In 1967 Dalhousie won its first AUAA track and field conference championship since the sport’s inception in the league in 1911. Al quickly followed his success on the track with success on the cross country trails with Dalhousie winning its first ever AUAA cross country conference championship in 1972. From these modest beginnings, Al has developed very successful track and field and cross country programs at Dalhousie. The majority of the 91 conference championships his teams have won were in these two sports.

An exceptional level of optimism is what Al Yarr brings to sport. He believes in people living their dreams, in the pursuing excellence at the highest levels and in enjoying the process through the laughter of one’s teammates and the experience of being a varsity athlete at Dalhousie. He inspires teams by believing in them and that they can accomplish what any statistician would claim impossible. It is a tribute to the strength of those beliefs that they do, in fact, often overpower statistical odds; Al propels his athletes and teams to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

The credit for his success, according to Al, is often left to his athletes. His mantra, "You don't become a great coach without having great athletes,” speaks both to his faith in the athletes with whom he works and to what he enjoys most about coaching. Despite the unprecedented number of conference wins he has recorded, Al’s undiminished enthusiasm for coaching is powered by his enjoyment of working with the people attracted to the sports he coaches. He still gets excited about new runners coming to Dalhousie, new training techniques and is elated when athletes achieve personal bests.

Al is a student of the game, whatever that game may be. Whether it is basketball, golf, running, or life, he is always searching for and integrating new ideas into training programs. After forty-four years Al is still learning, perhaps more voraciously than ever. He reads constantly, learning from sports greats in the process. Over his career he has sought out and learned from the world’s best coaches including such John Wooden and Jack Donahue in basketball and Peter Coe in track and field, among hundreds of others. After over fifty years of learning from the best, Al’s wealth of knowledge reaches into every aspect of coaching.

Ninety one conference championships is a legacy in its own right, but what is not reflected in this number is the influence Al has had on Dalhousie’s student-athletes, as people. He has been a coach, a teacher, a mentor and a friend to hundreds of student-athletes, spanning five decades. Al's contribution to sport at Dalhousie has been immense. It would be difficult to find anyone in the history of coaching that has given so much of himself to Dalhousie athletics. He is, without question, a Dalhousie coaching icon.

Tom Lynch, Builder: Administration

Tom Lynch is being honoured today because of his major contributions to sport and athletic life at Dalhousie University. He has worked tirelessly to advance athlete recruitment, fundraising and sport administration efforts at Dalhousie.

Tom has been an important player in helping to shape the structure of Dalhousie’s athletic student services fees and has been continuously involved in directing fundraising and recruitment efforts for high performing student-athletes.

In the late 1970’s, as a member of the Tiger Club, the predecessor to the current Black and Gold, he devoted much time and energy to the betterment of athletics at Dalhousie. As a founding member and former President of the Dalhousie Black and Gold Club, Tom helped establish this organization whose focus is to provide support for student athletes with financial awards, tutorial programs and sponsoring the annual athletic banquet.

These tools have become an increasingly necessary means to recruit student-athletes in an exceptionally competitive market. Thanks to Tom, the Black and Gold Club has been providing assistance to student-athletes at Dalhousie University for over twenty years.

One of the most exclusive, highly successful fundraisers and arguably the best annual event organized by the University is the annual Dal Golf Classic. As a founding committee member of this event, Tom was instrumental in getting the Dal Golf Classic off the ground and influential in securing the Risley home in Chester to host the inaugural reception. This ended up being the key to a hugely successful golf tournament. It sold out, at a premium price and has continued to attract participation from important alumni, partners and friends of Dalhousie, all in an effort to raise funds for student-athletes.

One of Tom’s greatest administrative accomplishments was the introduction of student athletic fees as part of tuition. These fees were initially added to enhance the student experience at Dalhousie, but have since evolved into also providing necessary support for varsity athletics, including greater recruiting and team travel funding. 

Along with his focus on the Tigers’ programs, he was also a strong believer in a balanced approach to student athletics. Giving all Dalhousie students, not just the varsity athletes, access to better facilities, quality fitness equipment, free fitness classes, as well as more support for intramurals and clubs was important to him. With the implementation of the new fee structure students also received free entrance to regular varsity competitions. 

Tom played an integral role in advancing many initiatives at Dalhousie. He helped create a very positive relationship with student organizations including the Dalhousie Student’s Union, student residences and various sport and recreation-related groups.

Tom placed a great deal of emphasis on student input in decisions of the Advisory Committee and all major decisions which affected their time at Dalhousie. He was a strong promoter of the establishment of an athlete’s council and other student representative organizations to ensure that the student voice was heard.

Up until 1995, the home of the soccer Tigers, Studley Field, became nearly unusable each year as the fall weather wreaked havoc on field conditions. Affectionately known as “Mudley Field”, Tom understood the dire need to improve this facility for the safety of Dalhousie students and Tiger athletes, as well as a necessity in the recruitment of future rising soccer stars. Tom worked closely with Ted Wickwire advocating for the replacement of Studley Field  and with Ted’s untimely death , Tom continued as a tireless force behind the building of the appropriately named , Wickwire Field - the largest artificial turf facility in the country at the time.

An area that was personally close to Tom’s heart was the recruitment of talented athletes for all Dalhousie varsity teams. He made tremendous contributions to coaches of all sports in the recruitment of key athletes, often at his own expense.  He enjoyed entertaining parents and athletes, taking visiting coaches and athletes out on the town, and travelling to events and various locales to visit potential recruits and their parents.  He spent many hours on the phone making a significant number of calls to well positioned and connected Dal alumni across the country with a goal of engaging them in the recruitment process. Tom has been one of the greatest ambassadors and promoters of Dalhousie Athletics and his success rate in winning over top recruits and their parents is extremely high.

Tom was also active in assisting coaches in the creation of tournaments such as the Rod Shoveller Memorial Men’s Basketball Tournament and the Centennial Women’s Basketball Tournament. These events serve not only as great competition for Dalhousie’s teams and fans, but also as significant fundraisers for the various programs.

Contributions to sport do not take place only on the field, rinks, or gymnasiums. It is because of people like Tom Lynch, who work so diligently to shape and support the direction that sport has taken at Dalhousie that has earned him a place in the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame.

Ian Oulton, Builder

Ian Oulton was a Dalhousie art history and economics student from 1962-66. During his time at Dalhousie he was also a member of the varsity football and hockey teams. Impressive both on the ice and on the field, Ian was honoured by Dalhousie in 1963 as football’s Lineman of the Year and later selected as the hockey team MVP in the 1965-66 season.

When asked about his university experience Ian says, “I learned more in the athletic field than the academic field. Much of what you learn in athletics helps you to survive in life. In athletics you learn how to win and lose and get along. In my business now the ability to communicate and work with people is by far the most important aspect. I attribute that to athletics.”

While a student Ian was also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity.

After graduation from Dalhousie in 1966 Ian became an irreplaceable supporter of Dalhousie’s athletic program. He has put tremendous effort in planning and organizing extensive fundraising activities, including programs such as the Dalhousie Hockey Club and the facilitation and installation of premium seating at Memorial Arena.

The Dalhousie Hockey Club was created in 2009 and hosts fundraising events for the men’s hockey team. This club has been essential to the foundation of the men’s hockey program. In 2002 196 premium arena seats were installed at Memorial arena, donated by Ian. The gift of these seats has provided ongoing revenue stream for the team as funds generated through the annual sale of these seats are directed to the men’s hockey program.

Ian spent the 2005-06 season as chair of Dalhousie’s Athletic Endowment Fund campaign to support student-athletes. This fund is essential in raising money to fund scholarships and programs to attract top-quality competitive, talented student-athletes.

In 2008 Ian received Dalhousie’s President’s Circle medal, an honour that is given to university donors whose cumulative lifetime giving to Dalhousie totals $100,000 or more.

When asked about his generous contributions to the Tigers programs, Ian states, “Dalhousie was a contributor in giving me confidence to achieve goals in my lifetime. I would not be able to do it without the experience and exposure that I got at Dalhousie.”

Ian’s dedication and support of Dalhousie athletics has been an essential ingredient of the program’s success. To recognize his contribution we honour Ian Oulton by inducting him to Dalhousie’s Sport Hall of Fame. 

Judi Rice, Builder

Judi Rice is a fine example of an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to Dalhousie athletics. Judi has been a Tigers’ supporter since 1971 and her involvement spans from her time as an athlete to her current position as the Black and Gold Club president. When asked about why she remains so involved with Dalhousie athletics, Judi says, “I was lucky enough to experience the academic side and participate in sport. Since it was such a good experience for me I always felt I wanted to give back to the school.”

Judi was enrolled in Dalhousie’s physical education program from 1971-75. During that time she was a member of the field hockey team each year and a member of the women’s basketball team for three years (1971-74). The field hockey team held the AUAA championship title all four years that Judi played and the basketball team captured the title during the 1972-73 season. She was greatly respected by her coaches and teammates and was honoured as the basketball MVP in 1973-74 and as the field hockey MVP in 1974-75. Judi also led the basketball team as captain for two seasons (1972-74) and the field hockey team for two seasons (1973-75).

Although earning a degree and playing on two varsity teams kept her busy, Judi also found time to get involved in student life at Dalhousie, and was on the executive of her physical education program’s class society.

Continuing her involvement with the Tigers basketball team after graduation, Judi served as an assistant coach under head coach Dr. Carolyn Savoy in 1978-79. Through the 1980’s Judi became the Tigers women’s basketball statistician and announcer.

After graduation from Dalhousie Judi continued to play field hockey until 1983 at a very competitive level including the Nova Scotia provincial team. In 1995 she was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame as a member of the 1975 Nova Scotia field hockey team that captured the national championship.

Eager to become more involved with other teams at Dalhousie, Judi joined the Black and Gold Club board in 1990. Since then she has spent a tremendous amount of time and effort supporting Dalhousie athletic programs, greatly contributing to its success. She has been instrumental in the creation of programs important to student-athletes such as sponsored tutoring and the graduating athlete’s reception. Over the past twenty years she has been with the Black and Gold Club board, Judi has served as the president for eight years.

In 2003 she was honoured as a recipient of the A. Gordon Archibald Alumnus of the Year.  This prestigious award is presented to alumni who have made significant contributions to Dalhousie University.

When considering everything that she has assisted with over the past thirty years, Judi says that for her the “brightest light” remains her time as the Chair of the Advisory Council on Athletics and their journey to establish the Tigers varsity women’s hockey program allowing for a gender equitable offering of varsity teams. “I have great pride in Dalhousie in the fact that we now have 14 varsity sports, seven men, seven female and that we are always very conscious of that.”

Judi Rice has been a remarkable supporter of Dalhousie athletics and has greatly contributed to the success of the athletics program. She has spent countless hours creating a better experience for Dalhousie’s student-athletes. To honour the incredible effort and all that she gives to the Tigers we are here today to induct Judi Rice into the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame.

Dr. Alexander (Sandy) Young, Builder: Sport Historian

A celebrated raconteur, educator, colleague and leader, Sandy Young was known for his exceptional personality and support of Nova Scotian sport.

Born in New York City and educated in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Sandy moved to Nova Scotia in 1970 and never looked back. A professor for Dalhousie’s School of Physical Education, now the School of Health and Human Performance, Sandy’s excitement for athletics was contagious for anyone he spoke with.

Sandy’s passion for sports began in his childhood. He played basketball and football through high school and university and continued to play basketball as a regular at Dalhousie’s noon hoops for over 25 years. His other great passion was for salmon fishing, but in general he was interested in any high level sport.

His desire to share sports stories with the world came from his children. One of Sandy’s daughters, Nicole, was playing for the Nova Scotia provincial team and remembers telling Sandy that Nova Scotia could never compete with other provincial teams. He became determined to dig up Nova Scotian sport history to prove that Nova Scotians could compete and to inspire his children and others. 

His research led to the publication of Beyond Heroes, a two-volume history of Nova Scotia sport.  This work has been monumental in the history of Nova Scotian sport as these books display Nova Scotia’s rich sports history that will inspire others for years to come.

Sandy led the way for many sports advocacy initiatives including the foundation of the Dalhousie Award, which was later renamed the A.J. Sandy Young Award, and is presented annually to an individual who has greatly contributed to sport in Nova Scotia. He was also known for his encouragement of young athletes and played a large role in establishing the Nova Scotia Sports Heritage Centre.

A superior researcher and inspired speaker, Sandy was the presenter for Nova Scotia Hall of Fame inductions for over 15 years.  His sense of humor exemplified his motto, “who wants the truth if it is boring?” In 2002 the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame inducted Sandy as a builder.

In 2000 Sandy succumbed to a two-year battle with cancer, however his message has lived on. He is survived by his four daughters; Gabrielle, Julie, Michelle and Nicole. They are unable to be here to celebrate Sandy’s legacy with us today, and have asked family friend Leslie Barnes to accept Sandy’s award on their behalf.

Dr. Carolyn Savoy, Builder - Basketball

Dr. Carolyn Savoy dedicated her life to the sport of basketball and her legacy lives on through her players, colleagues and all who met her.

After a seven-year stint as the women’s basketball coach at St. Francis Xavier University, “Coach Savoy” took the reins of the Tigers program in 1977. She is the winningest women’s basketball coach in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) history with 858 wins and boasts a 75% winning record. She led the Tigers to 389 (of 530 games) regular season wins, nine conference titles and five conference championship titles.

A five-time AUS coach of the year, Coach Savoy held a 49 game conference win streak from 1979 to 1982 and had two undefeated conference seasons. She had a 100% graduation rate for players who played three to five years on the team. In addition to academic success, Carolyn pushed her players to succeed on the court, producing 16 CIS All-Canadians, six CIS tournament all-stars and coached nine players to Canada’s junior and senior national teams.

Along the way, Carolyn received many accolades. She was inducted into the Saint John New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 2012. She received the Progress Club Women of Excellence Award, the Basketball Nova Scotia Frank Baldwin Award and the Dalhousie University Sandy Young Award in 2012.

Carolyn’s passion and commitment to the sport of basketball reached far beyond her time with the Tigers. She was the sport psychologist of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team when they won the NCAA Championship in 1991. A former president of Basketball Nova Scotia, she was the technical chair for the Pan American wheel chair games in 1982. A member of Canada Basketball’s Board of Directors from 1981 to 1987, she was the chair of the National Coaching School for Women in 1988. A master course conductor and Canada Basketball level 4 coach, Carolyn was the head coach of Nova Scotia’s Canada Games women’s basketball team in 2001 and was an assistant coach with Canada’s junior national team in 1979.

An associate professor in Dalhousie’s School of Health and Human Performance, Savoy served on Dalhousie’s Faculty Association and published two books and many articles during her tenure. After retirement she focused on corporate coaching, speaking at countless workshops and symposiums in addition to working on mental skills training with local sports teams.

At the time of her retirement from coaching in 2009, Carolyn reflected on her time with the Tigers saying “I’ve been very fortunate to be in a job where I loved running practices, the individual sessions with players, seeing them grow from freshmen to seniors and now they are doctors and successful in business. I loved that and I love being part of their lives. As a coach you have those fond memories. Not just of who they are as players, but who they are as people. And some of them are still good friends of mine to this day and they are in their 50s.”

Al Scott, Builder - Men's Volleyball

Al Scott came to Dalhousie in 1979 as head coach of the men’s volleyball team following a very successful five-year coaching career at the University of Victoria.

A graduate of the University of Calgary’s physical education program, Scott played varsity hockey for the Dinos before moving on to complete a Master of Science degree at the University of Oregon. A physical education teacher in British Columbia, Scott coached a multitude of sports before honing in on volleyball. As the British Columbian provincial team coach, he led them to two gold medals at the Canada Games.

In his 20 years as head coach, Scott moved the Tigers to the top of the conference winning 19 Atlantic conference championships during that span. He led them to the national championship 20 consecutive seasons, winning bronze in 1981-82, 1993-94, 1994-95 and a silver medal in 1996-97.

A five-time Dalhousie coach of the year, Al was selected volleyball coach of the year a remarkable 15 times by the AUAA (now AUS) and was the CIAU (now U SPORTS) coach of the year in 1988-89.

Under his guidance, Scott groomed a multitude of players to individual success. He had 65 AUS all-stars, 15 AUS MVPs, 16 AUS championship MVPs and 24 U SPORTS all-Canadians. Eight of those players went on to have success with the junior and senior national teams.

Scott believed that success could be achieved through hard work and preparation. He instilled the importance of those attributes in his players to help them succeed on and off the court. Known for his attention to detail, Scott never left much left chance in preparing for a match. His attention to detail wasn't just limited to team preparation as he was meticulous in running all aspects of the program. Whether it was fundraising, recruiting or organizing trips, he always put a lot of time into positioning the program to be highly successful.

“Al was the most prepared coach I've ever had,” says former player, all-Canadian Brian Rourke. “He would have us fill out detailed scouting reports on upcoming opponents and then we would watch film on them all. We would go through rotation after rotation in our little hotel rooms trying to gain an advantage over our opponents.”

“Playing for Al helped me to be ready for whatever came my way during my volleyball years and for life after,” Rourke continues.

Current Dalhousie men’s volleyball coach Dan Ota spent four years as an assistant coach with Scott and relished the experience. “It's a rare opportunity to be mentored by one of the most successful coaches in our sport's history, says Ota. “I especially benefited from the amount of responsibility that Al gave me during my time as an assistant coach. Not many coaches would have trusted their assistant to have such a high degree of influence on their team, but if not for that, my transition to the head coach role would have been much more difficult to manage.”

A master coach, Scott served on Volleyball Canada’s coach review board and was president of the CIAU men’s and women’s volleyball association for four years. He was also a guest coach with Canada’s senior national men’s team for six summers and led team Nova Scotia’s Canada Games boys volleyball team to a consolation final win in 1987.

He was the driving force behind the growth of Dalhousie’s annual high school volleyball tournament, making it one of the largest in Canada. Scott also established the Jeff Bredin Memorial Scholarship and co-ed volleyball tournament fundraiser, in honour of the former Tigers player.

During his time as head coach of the Tigers men’s volleyball program, Al also held a joint appointment with what is now known as the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie. His primary area of focus as a faculty member was in teaching methodology for future physical education teachers, before leading the sport management course when the physical education program ended in 1996.

Scott took on the role of athletic director at the end of the 1998-99 season before retiring in 2009. As director, he had a number of accomplishments including starting the annual academic all-Canadian luncheon, creating full-time coaching positions and gender balance amongst Dalhousie’s teams by moving women’s hockey to varsity status.

David Fry, Builder - Swimming

David Fry dedicated his life to the sport of swimming and the athletes that competed for him.

He began his career with the Tigers in 1981, spending two seasons as an interim head coach while Nigel Kemp was on sabbatical (1981 and 1993) and assisting with the Tigers until 1998 when he was named Kemp’s successor. In his 16 years as head coach, he amassed 30 conference titles leading his teams to a nearly unblemished Atlantic University Sport championship record, earning titles every year with just two exceptions (men’s 1992-93, women’s 2000-01). David was named Dalhousie’s coach of the year four times, an AUS coach of the year 20 times and was named CIS coach of the year for the women in 2003 and for the men in 2007.

Originally from Halifax, Fry and his family moved to Wolfville when he was 12. He went to Acadia and swam for the Axemen while earning an arts degree. A team captain and MVP in his final year, it was at Acadia he decided he wanted to coach, which prompted his work with young swimmers during the summer while attending school.

After receiving a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University in 1973, David began his professional coaching career with the Dartmouth Crusaders while teaching fulltime. He received a Master of Arts in coaching science from Lakehead University in 1977 and acted as an assistant coach with the Thunder Bay Swim Club.

After leaving the Crusaders club in 1985, he earned a law degree from Dalhousie in 1998 while coaching the Tigers and Nova Scotia provincial teams. A previous chair of the Nova Scotia Swim Coaches Association, David was a level 1 and 2 coaching certification instructor for over 15 years. In 1981 and 1997, he was the head coach for the Nova Scotia Canada Games teams and in 1984 he led the Canadian national junior team to the world championships in Scotland. He was also the Bermudian national swim team coach for three years that included a trip to the 2004 Olympics in Athens with former Tigers swimmer Kiera Aitken. Aside from coaching, David was a teacher for 35 years.

His knowledge of the sport and coaching talent was essential in the Tigers success in the pool. He led Dalhousie athletes to over 20 CIS championship podium finishes including multi-year medallists David Sharpe (three gold, three silver, one bronze) and Kiera Aitken (two silver, one bronze).

David’s easy-going, but direct rapport struck a chord with Tigers swimmers, including Katherine Dunn.

“David had many talents,” she says. “He was tough but rarely angry; confident but always humble; passionate, but self-composed under pressure; exacting but easy going; learned but not didactic. What stands out to me, above all, was the way in which could he read and understand people and respond to them as individuals. He was a champion of any swimmer in his orbit who was willing to work hard, listen, and give their best, regardless of their skill, talent or speed.”

When he retired in 2012, David was asked what he was proudest of during his time at Dalhousie.

“Certainly, the run we’ve had at the AUS level has been great,” he said. “And coaching several athletes to the top of the podium, individually, at the CIS level was very rewarding.”

“But it’s also about those athletes who aren’t the ‘stars,’ but who take a lot of pride in how far they’ve come from where they started. It’s so great to be part of that, and to know how well-balanced swimmers are as people: they have some time for fun, and most of them are solid students – which our high number of Academic All-Canadians reflects.”